Stretches; what's your loosening up routine?

[jdobbs64]

What exercises or routines do you employ to ensure your horse is loose and stretched before ‘really’ working?

Example-in a brisk walk, tracking right from C: I ask for SI coming out of corner to R, then straighten to P, 10’ circle at P, then HI P to the corner, use the corner to finish the HI, straighten across the short end, then repeat down the other long side, sometimes turning at E or B to change directions.

I also use canter serpentines, no changes, then do a teardrop at C or A to come back to the middle for a canter/trot transition or canter walk, all with the idea of loosening them up, not terribly worried about getting the canter to bloom and be huge, not in warming up, but definitely 3 beat and forward, ensuring the horse is not totally dinking along.

What are some routines you use? Any patterns? Would love to hear what you do.

[atlatl]

Walk 10 min on a long rein, some flexing of poll, leg yields, turns on forehand. No specific routine other than checking that all systems are go and if not working on loosening that bit before moving on.

[Manni01]

[QUOTE=atlatl;9030018]
Walk 10 min on a long rein, some flexing of poll, leg yields, turns on forehand. No specific routine other than checking that all systems are go and if not working on loosening that bit before moving on.[/QUOTE]

Exactly this as well, maybe even a little more walk. And then some rounds trotting to get the horse into the right rhythm

[beowulf]

It sounds cliche, but I get them moving out on the trail first.

I made a five-minute bridle path that cuts a wide swath around the property. It’s not very well-groomed and it is hilly. I get on and immediately hit the trail/bridle path for a loop or two. Since it is full of terrain, small logs, etc, it requires a sharp mind, and really wakes them up and gets them moving - it’s a great way to also feel if anything is wrong.

Usually it is enough to get them nice and warmed up and they go to work much quicker/with less tension than on the days I do not hit the trail. I noticed enough of a difference that I made it my daily routine to do a loop or two every ride before work.

Once I’m in the ring it’s usually a few minutes of raised pole work (not quite cavaletti, not quite poles either), followed by some leg-yields to and from the edges of the ring to the poles, followed by some nice stretchy trot figure eights over poles before I really ask them to get to work. I do not do too much lateral work right off the bat (and most of mine are greener anyway), but I do expect them to be moving forward + loose.

[Magicboy]

My gelding is a senior citizen do I do a lot of walk…SI, HI, LY and Hp then go to canter laps and eventually 10 m circles, spiraling in and out. I save the. Sitting trot work till last

[Libby2563]

This sequence is what I’ve found works well for my older horse:

Brisk walk on loose rein (requires much encouragement as he is a lazy and small walker)
HP in walk
Three-loop trot serpentines in trot
Trot LYs from CL to the wall
20 m canter circles asking for a lot of activity and reach in the hind end while keeping shoulders up and nose out (Jeremy Steinberg describes this as revving the horse’s engine up a notch higher than s/he naturally wants to go–that image works well for me)
Canter-trot-canter transitions
Walk break
Quick transitions between SI and HI in trot down the long side

Without fail, he feels really loose, sharp, and through by the end of that warm-up.

[CatchMeIfUCan]

In addition to walking at least 5 minutes out of the arena on a loose rein stretching, I do at least 5-10 min of walk lateral work similar to what is posted in the OP along with leg yields/HP to x and then back to the corner or leg yields/HP across the arena. I also do ground poles at the beginning of every workout to get him thinking critically. I usually set them up on a circle with walk distance on the inside, regular trot in the middle, and big trot on the outside so that I have options. Any time I lose his focus or he starts tensing up, it’s back to the ground poles.

I usually then move to trot work going forward and coming back and I incorporate a few canter transitions fairly early. I do lots of 4 loop serpentines either doing them in counter bend or doing something different over the center on each loop (halt, walk transition, half halt, or forward for two strides, etc). Then I repeat most of the walk warm up in trot.

We live in flat Florida, so trot poles get used almost every ride for strengthening as well as getting his attention.